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Dorothy Walker (critic)

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Dorothy Walker
BornDorothy Cole
(1929-01-16)16 January 1929
Dublin, Ireland
Died8 December 2002(2002-12-08) (aged 73)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationArt Critic
NationalityIrish

Dorothy Walker (16 January 1929 – 8 December 2002) was an Irish art critic and a vocal champion of abstract modernism in Ireland.

Early life and education

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Born Dorothy Cole in Dublin in 1929 to the owner of a fruit and vegetable business, living in Mountjoy Square, Dublin, and educated in the Dominican Convent Wicklow and École du Louvre in Paris.

Career

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Walker was a co-founder of the occasion modern art exhibition Rosc.[1] She was a board member and even an interim director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art. She wrote an art column for the Irish Independent in 1986 and 1987.[2][3][4] She published several books on art, which included a rare but much admired discussion of contemporary Irish art.[5][6] "She made a vigorous and at times explosive contribution to the careers of painters and the judgements of their critics," wrote her colleague Bruce Arnold in an obituary.[1]

Personal life and legacy

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She was married to architect Robin Walker, with whom she had five children.[7] Her husband died in 1991, and she died in 2002, at the age of 73, in Dublin.[1] After her death the Irish Museum of Modern Art held an exhibition in her honour, featuring work by artists such as Patrick Scott and Sean Scully, whom she particularly favoured.[8] Her son Corban Walker is a noted sculptor,[9] who acknowledges his parents' work as influential in his own career.[10]

Bibliography

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  • Modern art in Ireland (Dublin: Liliput 1997) ISBN 1-874675-96-1
  • Michael Scott, Architect in (casual) conversation with Dorothy Walker (Kinsale: Gandon Editions 1995)
  • Without the Walls: John Aiken, James Coleman, Felim Egan, Brian King, Ciaran Lennon, Alanna O'Kelly, Michael O’Sullivan, Nigel Rolfe, Noel Sheridan (London: ICA 1980)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Arnold, Bruce (15 December 2002). "Dorothy Walker". Sunday Independent (Dublin ed.). p. 30. Retrieved 19 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Walker, Dorothy (14 November 1987). "Art: Warriors for Eva". Irish Independent. p. 8. Retrieved 19 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Walker, Dorothy (31 October 1987). "Art: Songs from the Heart and the Heart". Irish Independent. p. 12. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  4. ^ Walker, Dorothy (22 May 1986). "Thieves picked out the very best". Irish Independent. p. 11. Retrieved 19 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "A huge influence on the visual arts". The Irish Times. 14 December 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Ricorso: Digital materials for the study and appreciation of Anglo-Irish Literature". www.ricorso.net.
  7. ^ Vera Ryan (2003). Movers and Shapers: Irish Art Since 1960. Collins. ISBN 978-1-903464-38-0.
  8. ^ Keenan, Brendan (23 March 2004). "Getting to the Art of the Matter". Irish Independent. pp. T26. Retrieved 19 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Murphy, Paula. "Artist Biography: Corban Walker – Sculpture Dublin". Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Life is looking up". Irish Independent. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

Sources

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  • Caoimhín Mac Giolla Léith (2003) Dorothy Walker 1929-2002. CIRCA 103.
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